SPORTS
Spartans open Big Ten play with rout of Northwestern
Kalin Lucas and Raymar Morgan combine for 38 points as men’s basketball team breaks down Northwestern zone defense in 91-70 victory.
FOOTBALL
Spartan tailgaters preparing for the Alamo
San Antonio — Despite being outnumbered by the home Texas Tech fans, upbeat Spartan fans stick out at the Alamo Bowl hours before kickoff.
FOOTBALL
Nichol to play wide receiver, punt returner in bowl
San Antonio — Usually tight to the vest with everything, MSU head coach Mark Dantonio surprised many people Friday by announcing that backup quarterback Keith Nichol will line up as a wide receiver and return punts in Saturday’s Valero Alamo Bowl against Texas Tech.
FOOTBALL
Coaches put distractions aside before bowl game
San Antonio — Adversity, and specifically overcoming it, has been the buzz word all week leading up to Saturday’s Valero Alamo Bowl.
SPORTS
Keane keys Spartans' victory over U-M
The junior forward’s 18 points and tenacious play in a 86-71 victory leads MSU to its 13th victory over the Wolverines in the past 14 games.
ICE HOCKEY
Petry, Perlini make impact as icers win title
Detroit — Coming into the Great Lakes Invitational, junior defenseman Jeff Petry was a known commodity for the MSU hockey team. Sophomore forward Brett Perlini, however, was not.
ICE HOCKEY
Back on top
Detroit – After having one of the worst years in program history last season, winning trophies seemed to be a long ways away for the MSU hockey team entering this season. The Spartans proved otherwise Wednesday. MSU dismantled RPI 6-1 in the championship game of the 45th Annual Great Lakes Invitational at Joe Louis Arena to win the MacInnes Cup. The tournament victory was the 12th for the Spartans and their first since 2006.
BASKETBALL
Spartans win as Lucas comes off bench
Following MSU men’s basketball 87-68 victory Wednesday against Texas-Arlington at Breslin Center, head coach Tom Izzo tried to downplay booting junior guard Kalin Lucas from practice Tuesday.
SPORTS
Texas Tech coach fired before MSU bowl game
Red Raiders head coach Mike Leach won’t coach Texas Tech against the Spartans on Saturday as the school investigates allegations that he mistreated an injured wide receiver.
ICE HOCKEY
Perlini making most of opportunity
Detroit — Sophomore forward Brett Perlini is trying to make the most of every shift he’s given for the MSU hockey team.
ICE HOCKEY
Spartans advance to GLI final with dominating 10-1 win
Detroit — Entering the second half of the season, MSU head coach Rick Comley said he wanted to see scoring filter down through all of the Spartans’ lines. Sure, junior forwards Corey Tropp and Andrew Rowe, along with freshman forward Derek Grant, have proven they can score. But Comley said a key to success down the stretch of the season was finding offensive contributions from every player. And Comley got his wish in a big way in the No. 13 MSU hockey team’s first game back from the holiday break.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Spartans drop to 0-2 in Big Ten after loss
The MSU women’s basketball team has a big hole to climb out of if it hopes to win the Big Ten title.
ICE HOCKEY
No. 13 Spartans hit ice, prepare for GLI
After a week and a half off to enjoy the holidays, the No. 13 MSU hockey team was mentally ready to get back on the ice.
BASKETBALL
No. 2 Texas pulls away from MSU
In a flash Tuesday night, a series of plays epitomized the MSU men’s basketball team’s outing against Texas in Austin — its strengths muted while the Longhorns’ strong points flexed their muscles.
BASKETBALL
MSU's defense steps up in 67-59 win against St. Bonaventure
Suzy Merchant believes no Big Ten team has been tested like hers in the nonconference season. Monday’s game with St. Bonaventure was just another reason why. On the cusp of the top-25, the Bonnies came into Breslin Center unbeaten at 11-0 with several quality wins, so it was no surprise to anyone when they kept fighting back.
BASKETBALL
Spartans prepare to face No. 2 Texas
Kalin Lucas has never lost to Texas — and he doesn’t plan on starting this season. MSU’s junior guard has been a key cog in MSU’s two neutral site victories against the Longhorns the last two seasons. This season, however, the stakes are higher, as the Spartans have the opportunity to make a splash on the national scene by beating the No. 2 Longhorns on Tuesday in Austin, Texas.
BASKETBALL
Strong start leads MSU to victory against Washington
It’s safe to say a tape of Saturday’s game between the MSU women’s basketball team and Washington won’t ever be heading to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The two teams combined to shoot 31.1 percent, commit 36 turnovers and 48 personal fouls, but the No. 16 Spartans were much more efficient on both ends of the floor, knocking off the Huskies 69-52 at Breslin Center.
BASKETBALL
"Locked in" Morgan leads MSU to 80-58 win against IPFW
The MSU men’s basketball team stuck with what has worked for most of the season in its 80-58 win Saturday against IPFW at Breslin Center — stumble into halftime with a marginal lead and gradually pull away in the later moments of the second half.
BASKETBALL
Exams hinder practice time, but Spartans pull through against IPFW
Although final exams come every year, dealing with them this season was a much different story for MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo.
BASKETBALL
Spartans' 3-point barrage leads to win
Florida Gulf Coast head coach Karl Smesko came into Sunday’s game with MSU looking to make the Spartans’ offensively-passive guards hit outside shots by packing in the paint. He came to regret that decision less than three minutes into the game.